Out on a Limb

I've heard the idiom "out on a limb" numerous times, and have been known to use the phrase a time or two, but didn't really think about the meaning of it. In a recent sermon at church, the preacher said that at times we need to get out of our comfort zones and go out on a limb. He went on to say that the fruit does not grow close to the trunk of the tree, where it would be easy to pick, but out on the limbs of the tree. That immediately brought a picture to my mind of growing up on an apple farm. I didn't have to pick from the trees very often, but vividly remember those times that I did. Manuvering the tall wooden ladder was an art and one that required more muscle power than I had. Somehow I would manage to move it to a new part of the tree/limbs, carefully selecting just the right placement so that I could reach the apples and not fall through the tree. Most times I was successful, but I recall riding the ladder through the tree and on to the ground a time or two. Perhaps my dad saw my feeble attempts and decided that I was more of a hinderance to harvesting unbruised apples when I was "out on a limb."